Pregame Notes:
- Hawks are 1 of 2 teams in the NBA in the Top 5 in FG%, 3FG%, and FT%
- Thabo Sefolosha is averaging 15 pts., 4.5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal
- Kyle Korver needs six 3FGM to tie Dale Ellis for 11th in NBA History
- Elton Brand needs 2 blocks to tie Jermaine O’Neal for 24th in NBA/ABA History and 6 rebounds to tie Larry Bird for 56th
- There’s winning, and then there’s what the Hawks did tonight. The best way to demoralize a team on a 6-game win streak is to beat them, at home, by 32 points. With this win the Hawks tied a franchise record tonight (their 57th win).
Everything went perfect for the Hawks. The rebounding was solid, they were executing,and everything seemed to be going better than planned. The only black-eye so to speak would be when Paul Millsap injured his right shoulder in a collision during the game.
You know you’re team is having a great night when they go 17 for 33 in 3-pointers and 40 assists.
It was a great game for the Hawks overall and a terrible homecoming for former teammate Joe Johnson. In tonight’s drubbing, he had 4 pts. and 2 rebounds.
DeMarre Carroll & Al Horford both had 20 pts. while Jeff Teague had 17. The 1st Half gave a glimpse into what was coming for the rest of the game would look like. Not only did Al Horford have 16 pts., but the Hawks had already met 66 points in total, leading the Nets 66-48. They were shooting 64.1% overall and 75% from the free-throw line.
A tiny morsel of hope came when the Nets’ Thaddeus Young registered 14 pts. and 8 rebounds and Bojan Bogdanovic tallied 16 pts., in the 3rd Quarter. But the Hawks turned it up and by the start of the 4th the score was 108-71. Even the fans were shocked at the lopsided scoreline of the game. Some people left after the 3rd Quarter, but it was a very loud and proud early exit as opposed to the regular reason for an early departure.
Their biggest lead of the night was 38 pts. and the final score was 131-99, in favor of the Hawks. Their bench did the rest of the dirty work in the 4th Quarter and left quite an impression on both the Nets and the home fans.
The Hawks host the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 7:30p. They’re currently 2 wins away from 60 which would be a first for the club. Their 57 already ties a franchise record.
-Jon J.
Photo: Kent Foster